Rude Awakening Read online

  “I’ll do the dishes.” She took their plates and moved to the sink already filled with bubbles.

  “You don’t have to clean for me, Ruby, you’re my guest,” Harry pointed out.

  She ignored him, wanting to do something to digest her crazy thoughts about going to that meeting. He finished his coffee while she pondered the possibilities of visiting the club and being part of his world outside this house. She cleaned all of the grease and muck off the pots, then dried and cleaned the work surfaces. Master’s training had turned her into an efficient beast.

  Using a fresh cup, she poured Harry more horse sh—coffee. She placed it on the table.

  He was flicking through the newspaper again.

  “Thanks, Ruby.”

  She wrung her hands. How did she ask if she could go with him?

  “What’s the matter, Ruby?” He put the newspaper down and moved his chair so he faced her. Opening his legs to make room, he caught her hands and brought her between his spread thighs. He closed them, trapping her close to his body—a simple contact of his legs that sent shock waves of heat rolling up to her pussy. Biting her lip to keep from moaning, she turned her eyes away.

  “When you’re with me, show me how I affect you,” he said. “I can see you containing a moan and I want to hear you express it. Show me what I do to you.”

  Ruby shook her head, and the devil placed his hands on her thighs. As they travelled up her body, the heat of him warmed through the thin fabric of her trousers. She moaned, no longer able to contain the sound. He let go of her, clearly satisfied.

  “Now, what can I do for you, young lady? What do you want to ask that had you wringing your hands?”

  “I don’t want you to miss your meeting.” That was a good start.

  “One week won’t hurt, and I have you to keep me company.”

  His fingers locked with hers and he smiled, melting even more than her heart this time.

  “What if I was to come with you?” Biting her lip again, she looked down, not wanting to see his reaction in case he was disgusted by her idea.

  His finger under her chin lifted her gaze to his.

  “I don’t think you’re ready for that bit, honey.”

  “I won’t do anything. Just keep you company. That way I won’t feel like a total pain for stopping you going. And I can watch. Learn.”

  Harry shook his head and leant back. On instinct, Ruby wrapped her hands round his neck, tugging the strands of hair at the base of his skull. She held his face, forcing him to look at her. When he reared back again and a gasp escaped his lips, and no backlash of punishment came, she didn’t know what to do. His lips beckoned to her, and before she could stop herself she covered those lips with her own. The moment they connected, the electricity around them spiked. Her nipples pulsed as a fresh wave of heat rushed through her. He cupped behind her neck with one hand grasping her hair and pulled the long strands, easing her away from him. She let go and gave herself over to her new Master. He stood, towering over her, but she didn’t feel threatened. Instead, she was extremely turned on by his dominant move.

  He was taller, stronger and more powerful than her, and his act of transferring power to get her to submit to him was clear.

  “You would never be a pain or problem to me, Ruby. Never.”

  He stroked a finger along her cheek and she closed her eyes. The touch was gentle, his words poetic. “Please let me go with you?”

  “Why do you want to go?” he asked.

  “So I can see other people in the lifestyle. It’ll help me to know it’s not only you who’s kind and generous. Help me see you’re not the only Master who allows his women free rein to speak their minds and to be submissive to your needs without ever taking mine away.”

  “Why else do you want to go?”

  “I want to prove to you I can be your sub.”

  With that admittance, Ruby knew with all of her heart she had no desire to leave Harry’s side. They’d known each other such a short time, but some of the great love stories had taken a matter of moments. Love did exist. She’d seen it in people before Master had taken her away, clear with her own eyes.

  Harry shook his head and turned away, picking up the card and newspaper. “I don’t think you’re ready, but if you think you are and you trust me, then you’d better get some clothes ready for tonight. Hang them up, give them time to air out.”

  Ruby jumped on the spot, happy to be going with him, owned and claimed by Harry. She twirled in a circle and clapped her hands, going giddy.

  “What shall I do after that?” she asked, still doing her merry dance.

  “Explore the house. Have fun.”

  Ruby started off walking up the stairs until her excitement got the better of her and she ran. The freedom and chance to investigate brought a new lease of life. She danced in circles once she reached the top floor, then ran back downstairs to the first. The handrails were designed like those in the movies that children slid down. Unable to resist, she cocked a leg over the side and once she was comfortable, let go, sliding down to the ground floor. Landing on her feet, she went back to do it again. Four more times she repeated the slide, her giggles echoing off the walls.

  “What the bloody hell are you doing?” Harry came out of the kitchen in time to see her making the journey again.

  “Having fun like you told me to. Come on, give it a try.” She took his hand and led him up the stairs.

  He tried to pull out of her grip.

  “Come on!” she growled, tugging him along.

  “This is childish.”

  “But fun.”

  “Ruby!”

  Hands on hips, she glared at him. “You told me to have fun and finally I listen and now you’re…what? Going to tell me to stop?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Then give it a try. It’s fun.”

  Urging him towards the rail, she raised her eyebrows and waited.

  He glared at her, cheeks stained pink. He sighed. “Fine. I’ll do it this once.”

  Harry went down, landing perfectly. Ruby hooted. They took it in turns until finally they collapsed in a heap on the floor, laughing.

  Ruby laid her head on his stomach. “Told you it was fun.”

  He stroked her hair and chuckled, the movement making her head bounce. “I suppose I’d better listen to you more often.”

  “Yes, you should.”

  * * * *

  Some time later, Harry took her by the hand and led her through every room of the house.

  “What about the work you were doing in your office?” she asked.

  “I work all the time and it’ll still be there when I get back.”

  Ruby smiled, seeing a whole new playful side to Harry. Going down the handrail seemed to have invited the child inside him out and in doing so changed the atmosphere between them again.

  They went to the living room and she recalled them exploring one another last night, her arse finally properly introduced to the paddle. He pointed out certain features and his art. She found he even had a swimming pool.

  “You had this and you didn’t tell me?” she said.

  “I was saving it for a nice surprise.”

  After the tour, they landed in his library.

  “Now, I don’t think this is going to be as big as some of the libraries out there, but it could get you back into the swing of things,” he said, showing her one of the most expensive and rare collections of books she’d ever seen.

  Display pages of classics along with modern texts adorned each wall in spaces between shelves.

  “Where did you get all these from?” She moved to a shelf and inspected the collection of horror books before moving down to see first editions.

  “Passed down from generation to generation, and so my children will get these books, but with all the e-readers out these days, I don’t think they’ll be too thrilled with my collection,” he joked.

  “I know what you mean. But there’s nothing like the smell
of a book, new or old. I love holding them in my hands.” Ruby pulled one off the shelf and opened it, smiling at the dedication. She loved reading those. It made the book more personal and memorable.

  “Yes, I can see you like that,” he said.

  She brought the book to her nose and smelt the musty old cover. Fun and happy memories assailed her from when she’d worked as a librarian. “The worst mistake throughout my whole life was giving up my job and going with him. Most young women would probably hate being stuck in some boring old library cataloguing books and placing them back on the shelves, but I loved it.”

  “You can use this place as your own personal library if you want.”

  “Do you mean that?”

  “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.”

  Giggling, she replaced the book then charged at him. She jumped, and he caught her, his arms about her back, her legs circling his waist.

  “I knew you’d catch me,” she said, breathless.

  “Always.”

  She smiled and brushed her lips against his. She could lose herself in his kiss. The touch and taste of him was exotic and unlike anything she was used to. Harry gave pleasure and made sure she took as much as he did from the moment.

  Without thinking, she pulled away and pressed her nose into the curve of his neck.

  “I think I’m in love with you,” she whispered.

  She didn’t know if he’d heard her, but if he did, he gave no indication—no change in his stance, no faster breathing. He held her against him until the clock chimed in the hallway, signalling their daytime was coming to an end.

  Harry let her go, stroking her cheek. “It’s time to get ready.”

  Her heart fell at still receiving no reciprocating response, but she wanted nothing more than to be the perfect sub to him. Smiling, she took his hand and followed him out of the library, giving the books a last, lingering look.

  It felt like her life was only just beginning, and for the first time in what seemed forever, she was happy to live it.

  Chapter Ten

  With Ruby’s arm curled around his, her hand on his wrist, Harry led her through the club doorway and into the elegant foyer. The usual receptionist, Veronica, a brunette in her forties who would have looked at home in a lawyer’s office, greeted them with a smile and raised eyebrows over her red spectacles, an action he knew was specifically for him. He trained subs from here, never from outside, and her speculation amused him. Harry Knowles breaking from the norm? Unheard of.

  Well, people will have to get over it.

  He produced the card from his suit jacket pocket, conscious of Ruby shaking—from nerves or excitement, he wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, he squeezed her arm against his body with his and gave her a brief smile. She beamed back at him—it was excitement, then—and her eyes sparkled.

  She looked beautiful tonight, her short black dress emphasising her slight body, the high black heels seeming to extend her legs. They appeared to go on forever, and damn, if they weren’t here, he’d…

  He ignored his thoughts and placed the card on the faux oak desk, smiling at Veronica. She frowned and slid it towards her—reading, her lips moving with every word.

  “Uh, where did you get this?” she asked, turning it over and eyeing the black pattern on the back then looking up at him.

  “It must have been posted late last night.” Harry frowned. “Is there a problem?”

  Veronica shrugged. “Only that I haven’t seen one of these yet tonight and I wasn’t aware there was any special meeting just because of a new piece of play equipment.” She shrugged. “Always the last to know these things. Anyway, you know the rules, so here you go.”

  She pushed a guest book across the desk, and Harry signed them in. He felt for Veronica not being told about this. On special occasions she dressed up in full bondage gear, loving the chance to express herself. Tonight’s outfit of a black pencil skirt and white blouse probably made her feel just what she was—a receptionist.

  Harry nodded to her and led Ruby to a door at the rear. Once through it and in a long hallway with several mahogany doors either side, he stopped and curved his hands around the tops of her arms.

  “Nervous?” he asked.

  “Yes, and excited. This is nothing like I expected. It looks like a bloody doctor’s surgery.” She indicated the doors with a dip of her head. “There’s all the consulting rooms, look, and back there’s where you sit and wait for your appointment. Except my doctor’s place doesn’t have leather chairs and sofas and those beautiful potted palms.”

  He chuckled. “Well, through that door at the end is where everything is a little different. These are some of the play rooms, dungeons, the more private ones for one-on-one interaction. Through there”—he jerked his thumb in the direction of the hallway’s end—“is the meeting room, and from there you can take the stairs and go into the more adventurous dungeons.” He stroked her face, loving the wonder clearly written there.

  “More adventurous?” She widened her eyes.

  “Yes, as in…well, some rooms look like torture chambers to the untrained eye, but of course, they’re not. I’ll show you once the meeting is over, if you like.”

  “All right. And…will you do anything to me while we’re in them?” She smiled conspiratorially, a glint of hope in her eyes.

  “That depends how comfortable you are after you’ve seen the show.”

  “There’ll be a show?” She frowned.

  “Yes, there’s usually a weekly show every Sunday where a new sub is presented, or a Dom and sub wish to provide entertainment or share what they’ve learned.”

  “Oh my God. And we’d watch them…doing things?”

  He grinned, stomach bunching at his thoughts of watching Ruby observing them. “Oh, yes, we’d watch. Are you happy with that?”

  She blinked several times as she processed the information. “Um, I don’t know. I think so. Oh, hang on. I’m not sure… It seems a bit rude.”

  “You could try it, and if it isn’t your thing we can leave. It isn’t a problem, Ruby. You must do whatever makes you feel right. I will never make you do otherwise, do you understand?” He raised a hand and brushed her cheek, the feel of her soft skin stirring his cock to life. Inwardly he cursed. Walking into the meeting room with a hard-on wasn’t his style. Once in there when the show began, yes, it was difficult to suppress it, but not now.

  “Okay,” she said, nodding, as though convincing herself it would be all right.

  “I mean it,” he said. “Do not do anything just to please me. It has to be for yourself first. What makes you happy makes me happy. Understand?”

  Her eyes watered, and he pulled her close, one hand at the small of her back, the other in her hair. He pressed her cheek to his chest and smiled when she snaked her arms around him.

  “You’re too good to me, Harry.”

  “No,” he said, caressing her hair. “I’m not good enough.” Because I want to keep you, never set you free to explore with other Doms. I want to love you.

  Hell, she was under his skin, beneath the muscles, right in his goddamn marrow.

  “You’ll never know…” She eased her head back and looked up at him. “I…I’m so glad I ended up at your place.”

  “You never did explain just how you got there. It’s quite a way on foot from the city.”

  She bit her lip. “I hitched, planned to get far away, but the guy—”

  “You got in a car with a man?” He clamped his jaw closed, fighting the urge to shout. “My God, Ruby! Don’t ever do that again!”

  You won’t have to if you stay with me.

  “I won’t. I’m sorry, but you don’t realise how bad it was, how much I needed to get away. I was trying to get to my mother’s. He, the guy, thought I was a prostitute and he—”

  “Jesus Christ… Where does your mother live?”

  “A few miles from you, but thinking about it now, it would have been a shock for her if I’d just turned up. She… I hav
en’t seen her since…”

  Her eyes watered again, and he crushed her to him.

  “We’ll talk about this another time. You can ring her, and I’ll take you to see her once the weather improves, all right?”

  She nodded against his chest, and he gently pushed her back to look into her eyes.

  “We’ll get through this, understand?”

  She smiled and blew out a shaky breath. “I understand…Sir.”

  A cheeky smile lit up her face, and his insides melted.

  Damn. How will I ever manage without her?

  “Come,” he said brusquely, cursing himself for sounding so terse. “We’ll be late for the start of the meeting.”

  He held out his arm for Ruby to grasp and led her through the end doorway, his thoughts in turmoil. He’d begun to care for her more than he’d thought possible. Her revelation of how she’d arrived at his home that night swirled in his mind, making him think of what could have happened if the driver hadn’t let her out of the car. So he didn’t torture himself further with macabre visions, he glanced around the meeting room for sight of someone he knew. Rows of black leather bucket chairs were in front of the stage, a polished-wood, the podium set front and centre. Several of his friends and their subs stood before it. Others chattered in small groups, while some had paired off, deep in conversation.

  “I’m going to introduce you to my friends,” he said, guiding her towards them, seeing Judge Leo Jones had no partner tonight. “They’re very nice, so no need to be nervous.”

  He glanced at her and she nodded, staring up at him as though he was some kind of god. He’d have to watch she didn’t become too attached. Her telling him earlier that she loved him… Well, it had shocked him to the degree he couldn’t respond. She was suffering on the rebound, he knew that. No way did she love him in the real sense.

  Did she?

  He wasn’t sure now, what with the look on her face saying otherwise. She trusted him, that much was clear, and it seemed while she was at his side she was a beautiful, tiny butterfly just freed from her cocoon, content to settle on his arm for now.

  But butterflies fly away and discover other things, places, people…

  “Harry, old boy! Damn good to see you.”